County officials provide updates, and answer questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic for May 22th, 2020.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 35 new deaths and 1,072 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Twenty-five people who died were over the age of 65 years old and five people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Twenty-three people had underlying health conditions including 20 people over the age of 65 years old and three people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Three deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

To date, Public Health has identified 43,052 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,049 deaths. Ninety-two percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,892 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 39% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 57 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 6,093 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (14% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There are 1,506 people who are currently hospitalized, 26% of these people are in the ICU and 19% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for over 412,000 individuals and 9% of people testing positive.

Public Health continues to track health outcomes by race, ethnicity and income level data of people who have been tested, hospitalized and died from COVID-19. African Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty continue to have the highest rate of death per 100,000 people for COVID-19 when compared to other groups. While actual numbers for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders individuals are small, they have a death rate between 53 and 154 per 100,000. African Americans have a death of 26 per 100,000, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty have a death rate of 41 per 100,000. These rates are significantly higher than the death rate of other races and ethnicities. The death rate for people who identify as Latinx is 22 per 100,00, for Asian is 16 per 100,000, and for White is 13 per 100,000. Public Health continues collaboration with community, healthcare, and philanthropic partners to improve testing, connection to care and communications to the communities experiencing these inequitable outcomes.

“For all of you who are experiencing the profound sorrow of losing someone you love to COVID-19, we are deeply sorry. You are in our thoughts and prayers through these difficult times,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “This weekend, continue to use all the tools we have to slow the spread of COVID-19. We have shown that these actions work, and I am certain we can continue to protect each other through our recovery journey. The job we do in protecting each other will impact our numbers of new cases, hospitalizations and the number of people who pass away several weeks from now.”

A new Health Officer Order is being issued today that replaces the previous Health Officer Order and allows for the reopening of beach bike paths and parking lots, indoor mall curbside service, and select vehicle parades. Retailers remain closed to public entry along with beach piers, and public and private gatherings of any number of people outside of a single household unit are still not permitted. The Health Officer Order also continues to require specific higher-risk businesses to remain closed. Everyone must continue to follow distancing and infection control protocols, stay at least six feet apart and wear a clean cloth face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in contact with other people not in your household.

As the recovery journey continues and more people are out of their homes, it may be more difficult to slow the spread of COVID-19. Because there is a 14-day incubation period for COVID-19, the actions everyone takes today will impact where numbers are in two or three weeks. The best protection against COVID-19 continues to be to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing (especially by staying at home) and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household. People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

LA County is in stage two of the five-stage Roadmap to Recovery and until the final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will continue to ensure that we slow spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities. The Health Officer Order, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov .